Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and London

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,273 a month against $4,049 in London, rent and utilities included – about $33,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
195

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,273

/mo nomad

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,049

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in London

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Rio de Janeiro and in London actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,273 per month in Rio de Janeiro vs $4,049 in London, rent included.

Rio de Janeiro $1,273
London $4,049

A couple spends around $1,841 per month in Rio de Janeiro vs $5,827 in London, rent included.

Rio de Janeiro $1,841
London $5,827

A family of three spends $2,409 per month in Rio de Janeiro vs $7,605 in London, rent included.

Rio de Janeiro $2,409
London $7,605

Rio de Janeiro is about 69% cheaper than London, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Rio de Janeiro sits 6% below the global median, while London is 199% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.38 R$46.86

$27.09 £20.25

-65.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.00 R$200

$104 £78.0

-61.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.34 R$41.68

$10.86 £8.12

-23.20%

Cappuccino

$2.29 R$11.45

$5.60 £4.19

-59.11%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 R$7.93

$3.05 £2.28

-47.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.03

$2.28 £1.71

-55.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 R$10.69

$9.23 £6.90

-76.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R$18.28

$7.95 £5.94

-53.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 R$5.63

$1.83 £1.37

-38.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 R$10.45

$2.05 £1.53

1.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.25 R$6.27

$2.47 £1.85

-49.39%

Eggs

$2.25 R$11.23

$5.12 £3.82

-56.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.92 R$54.5

$12.89 £9.64

-15.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.36 R$21.79

$10.84 £8.11

-59.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.60 R$47.96

$17.03 £12.73

-43.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 R$14.26

$3.07 £2.30

-7.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 R$9.03

$1.38 £1.03

31.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.58 R$7.91

$2.99 £2.23

-47.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 R$9.15

$3.39 £2.53

-46.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 R$6.01

$1.60 £1.20

-25.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.06 R$5.28

$1.80 £1.35

-41.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.76

$1.41 £1.06

-46.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 R$3.40

$1.81 £1.35

-62.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.94 R$14.68

$23.92 £17.88

-87.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.98 R$39.85

$13.54 £10.12

-41.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 R$5.89

$3.23 £2.41

-63.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 R$12.09

$4.39 £3.28

-44.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.94 R$4.71

$3.92 £2.93

-76.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.3 R$251

$243 £181

-79.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.20 R$6.01

$5.58 £4.17

-78.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.83 R$4.14

$3.27 £2.45

-74.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$44.83

$58.4 £43.66

-84.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 R$6.44

$2.08 £1.56

-37.98%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$22.8K R$113.8K

$38.8K £29.0K

-41.35%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$34.0K R$169.7K

$40.6K £30.4K

-16.38%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$134 R$671

$380 £284

-64.65%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$10.73 R$53.6

$18.62 £13.92

-42.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.84 R$114

$40.45 £30.24

-43.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.16 R$151

$61.3 £45.78

-50.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.49 R$157

$21.41 £16.01

47.08%

Cinema Ticket

$7.73 R$38.60

$18.09 £13.52

-57.27%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$584 R$2,917

$2,905 £2,172

-79.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K R$64.0K

$35.5K £26.5K

-63.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.12 R$205

$116 £87.0

-64.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.26 R$246

$54.5 £40.75

-9.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.7 R$368

$128 £95.5

-42.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$65.9 R$329

$167 £125

-60.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$900 R$4,495

$2,852 £2,132

-68.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,634

$2,269 £1,696

-76.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,332 R$6,657

$5,250 £3,925

-74.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$748 R$3,736

$3,752 £2,805

-80.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,990 R$19.9K

$18.5K £13.8K

-78.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,794

$8,100 £6,055

-80.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,200

$5,109 £3,819

-87.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

4.74

151.69%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 18, 2026

Last update for London: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41.4%

London

$2.3K 56% 330% $1.7K

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$214 16.8%

London

$353 8.7% 65.4% $140

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.2%

London

$439 10.9% 162% $271

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$156 12.3%

London

$400 9.9% 156% $244

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$103 8.1%

London

$209 5.2% 102% $106

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$59 4.7%

London

$280 6.9% 372% $221

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$46 3.6%

London

$97 2.4% 114% $52

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $900 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,852 in London. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in London are about 8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $40 in Rio de Janeiro versus $104 in London. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $214 vs $353 – making Rio de Janeiro the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇬🇧 London

🕒 Local time

03:14 3:14 AM

06:14 6:14 AM

3 h ahead of Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

8,908,083 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.178 EUR

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 5 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.61 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 0.748 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.839 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro London 9,280 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
London

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Rio de Janeiro vs London: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro, $4,049 in London – roughly 218% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,910 per month in Rio de Janeiro and $6,073 in London. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Rio de Janeiro, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $900 there versus $2,852 in London.

Groceries cost about 65% more in London, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $40 in Rio de Janeiro and $104 in London. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Rio de Janeiro, where all-in costs run around $1,273, than in London at $4,049. In Rio de Janeiro it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Rio de Janeiro costs $1,273 versus $4,049 in London. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Rio de Janeiro. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, London makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.